VIRTUAL EXHIBITION:  WILD WEST 2020 - part 1

DRIVE

VANTAGE POINT

THE AMERICAN DREAM

DURANGO

BLAZING SADDLES

IRON HORSE

WYOMING

A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT

BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE

THE FINAL FRONTIER, MONTANA 2020 “The Pioneer bar in Virginia City has offered so much to us over the years and we are acutely conscious not to overplay your hand here. After all, there are many other weathered saloons in the West. We don’t want to be repetitive in our story telling. That would be lame. Equally, for our work, The Pioneer is em- phatically the best bar known to us. It has depth and the wagon wheel on the ceiling is ideally positioned. More importantly, it is home turf for us and last year I was honoured to receive “The Freedom of the City”. I have the key in my briefcase. The owner of The Pioneer partners with us rather than simply permiting us and that is a material difference. But when we go back each winter, it is important to bring a new variable to offer the chance of an image that can transcend. There is no point going backwards. My new variable this time was Cara Delevingne and her established team of stylists and hair and make-up artists. To bring such a celebrated and relevant woman as Cara to Montana is fresh ground. Put her in front of the Eiffel Tower and it is a new look on the Eiffel Tower. I gave her team a directive for this shot: bad ass; sexy; sovereign; 1920s but still very much Cara. They absolutely nailed it, as did she. The hat made a huge difference. I can’t think of any other woman in the world I would prefer to play this role. These are not easy images to execute as there is such limited light. Depth of field and shutter speeds are therefore compromised. Cara would always be sharp - that was easy - then we had to hope for some luck elsewhere. Cameras have improved so much over the years in terms of ability to work in low light. I could not have done this 10 years ago. But you are pushing the camera right to the edge of its capability. She owns this shot.” – David Yarrow Archival Pigment Print Edition size: 20 LARGE Image size: 56” x 84” Framed size: 67” x 95” STANDARD Image size: 37” x 55” Framed size: 48” x 66”

AMARILLO BY MORNING

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN Montana, USA - 2020 “This old railway carriage, was built in Mon- tana in 1902 and operated until 1968. It now lies abandoned in the ghost town of Nevada City and serves as a reminder of the busier days in the mountains. At today’s value, when mining came to an end in 1922, some $2.5bn of gold had been extracted from the region. The state of Montana played an integral part in Gold Rush history. I first visited the train in 2015 and immediately saw its potential for a staged shot. Half the window areas are open to the elements and in the winter the snow often overwhelms the decaying interior. In the following years we took a few pictures but, in many ways, these were a dress rehearsal for November 2020. We knew our light and our angles. Taking the female icon Cara Delevingne to a unique site like this, so far from anywhere vaguely on the map, was an opportunity not to be wasted. This is not a job for the precious, the carriage is fragile and getting on board was not easy. But Cara, as I know from working with her previously, is not precious, she is game for anything that is creative and authentic. The camera loves her and the styling - in an old buffalo skin coat - deliberately plays to a timeless story. She pings out of the train.Sometimes an artist creates something that can’t be copied and I think this is one such work. We would like to thank the Nevada City Outdoor Historic Museum for collaborating on this project.” – David Yarrow Archival Pigment Print Edition size: 20 LARGE Image size: 56” x 86” Framed size: 67” x 97” STANDARD Image size: 37” x 57” Framed size: 48” x 68”

ROAD TRIP II

MEET THE FOCKERS Texas, USA – 2020 “I have been fortunate to travel around much of the world taking photographs - but I don’t think I have found a better backdrop to stage a shoot than this remote outpost on the Mexican border in Big Bend Ranch State Park. It was a hell of a drive from the team’s base in Marfa and securing permits was challenging, but I knew it would be worthwhile - the building and the mountains behind were just so good. They play effortlessly into the lore of the Wild West. Better still, the area is called Contraband Creek. The nearest town of note is the bizarre art community of Terlingua. It is difficult to imagine the circumstances that led to people living around here unless they were in a witness protection programme or cooking crystal meth. It’s a sketchy place that would look at home in a Mad Max movie, not mainstream Texas. It was clear that whatever I did with this gift of a canvas, the concept had to be badass and mean. Josie Canseco - the Victoria’s Secret girl - was perfect for the lead role as she can look badass and still retain her femininity and sexuality. My instincts were that my camera lens should be encroaching upon a place of outlaws and that the underlying narrative should major on the dangers of trespassing. There could be no happy ending for the trespasser here.” – David Yarrow Archival Pigment Print Edition size: 12 LARGE Image size: 56” x 84” Framed size: 67” x 95” STANDARD Image size: 37” x 56” Framed size: 48” x 67”

ON THE ROAD AGAIN Montana, USA - 2020 "Once we found the caterpillar road that dissects this picture, I knew that we had the canvas on which to continue our road series that started in 2018. The area is so remote that we doubt it has been used as a film location before, certainly not with an American icon as the lead player. The only traffic was the occasional oil worker or perhaps someone that was totally lost. The next big event north of here is the Canadian border and that’s some 300 miles away. It is not a place to run out of gas. Cindy makes the picture for sure. The styling is perfect and there is a such a good energy cowgirl chic in her manner. This was the intent in the preconception - the two companions were enjoying the freedom of the vastness of the American West. The sense of place is palpable. This is the America that so many know and love, with its long roads running to the horizon with either side exuding a simple sense of calm and solitude. No other country in the world offers road trips as visually rewarding as America and they are integral to the fabric of the American dream. The snowfall the previous night added another layer to the narrative both on the road itself and on the prairies. We were lucky that the snow stopped and the light picked up. It adds warmth to an image already glowing with positivity and joy. Willie Nelson was surely singing “On the Road Again” on the car radio with the volume turned up to the maximum level." - David Yarrow Archival Pigment Print Edition size: 12 LARGE Image size: 56” x 79” Framed size: 67” x 90” STANDARD Image size: 37” x 52” Framed size: 48” x 63”

HOSTILES Montana, USA – 2020 "We have all, at one time or another, entered a bar and immediately felt out of place. At the most extreme level this can evoke a sense of trespassing. This was very much the narrative behind this photograph. To be greeted by an overtly territorial crew with menace and attitude. But for the story to work, two things had to coalesce as one - the characters and the interior. I like playing with the cold, it adds a visceral layer to the story and in this case, it hints at an outpost on the final frontier. Surely the further off the beaten track we travel, the greater the chance of being the outsider. This is a frame that exhausts every inch available in the camera and that was my intent. There were so many characters I wanted to include, but I was also reluctant to lose the mood of the frozen saloon. The icicles on the frosty bison with the snow laden television playing True Grit were key assets that needed to be seen to amplify the sense of cold. Our key asset was, of course, Cindy Crawford and she had to have sovereignty of the joint. She can play a badass very well and that was her ascribed role. It is not easy for everything to come together in such a tight setting as one tension spot can ruin the whole pastiche. It’s akin to camels and the eye of the needle. The wolf ’s paw on this occasion came very close to Cindy’s shot glass, but we got away with it. The wolf is actually a domestic dog breed called tamaskan - he is not 100% wolf, but that mattered little, as he merely added to the sense of trespass. The only reason to linger in this bar would appear to be the landlady. Maybe she could be won over? Who knows, but she certainly owns the image." - David Yarrow Archival Pigment Print Edition size: 12 LARGE Image size: 56” x 96” Framed size: 67” x 107” STANDARD Image size: 37” x 63” Framed size: 48” x 74”

CHIEF Devil’s Tower, USA – 2020 "Over the last few weeks we have quietly been photographing senior American Indians against the backdrop of quintessential and emblematic American vistas. Whilst we will be releasing some of the series in the run up to the Presidential Election, this is not an overtly political statement from us. We know that American Indians have long had a leaning toward the Democratic Party, but we took this assignment on because it is relevant, not to be political. There is wide recognition now that Christopher Columbus did not discover America in 1492 and the events in Minneapolis have accelerated the debate on the possibility of institutionalized racism in the teaching of American history. This is not a discussion with which we want to fully engage, as we are ill equipped to add value, but I do want to celebrate some of the tribal elders I have had the fortune to encounter in the last month. Their pride, manners, grace and humility have been humbling. We have made new friends in the North. The senior Elder of the fabled Lakota tribe is John Spotted Tail. We spent two days with him in Northern Wyoming and he was so excited to wear the headpiece that only the most senior Indian chiefs like him can wear. His attire was emphatically his decision not ours. Their heritage is integral to their souls. The ground in front of Devils Tower has film history. It is, of course, where Spielberg shot Close Encounters of a Third Kind immediately after the release of Jaws in 1975. More poignantly, it is sacred land for American Indians, and at dawn, before our early morning shoot, John and his wife - Tamara Stands and Looks Back, spent some time there praying. At around 8.30 am, the low hanging clouds lifted above the iconic geographical landmark and shafts of light lit up our canvas. We had our moment. Later that day, when I showed Chief John Spotted Tail this image, he shed a tear and I am proud to admit I did too. It was one of the most privileged days I have ever had in the field." - David Yarrow Archival Pigment Print Edition size: 12 LARGE Image size: 56” x 81” Framed size: 67” x 92” STANDARD Image size: 37” x 54” Framed size: 48” x 65”

ACES AND EIGHTS Montana, USA – 2020 "We are always looking for wild west saloon bars with a difference and this does result in a few lost days on tour. It’s an occupational hazard of being on the road in the company we keep. But we do say that we are exhaustive in our research. We tend to look for one transcending feature in a bar and on this occasion, in the legendary cowboy town of Miles City in eastern Montana, we found a 100-year 18ft tall oak Brunswick back bar. It would not have looked out of place in the smartest dining clubs of the early days of Wall Street. The owner of the Montana bar was more than open to a film crew coming to his bar on a wintry Sunday, but given Covid restrictions we had to think smart in the execution. There are many parts to this vignette. All are needed as I really wanted the room to be full of characters without losing the detail of the bar, after all, that was the reason we were there. The composition therefore needed to be very precise and all the talent had to listen acutely to directions - which in a couple of cases was a big ask. But we got there in the end I think. Everyone did a grand job, including the four-legged poker player with the killer hand. I think we did justice to the bar, which mattered to me." - David Yarrow Archival Pigment Print Edition size: 12 LARGE Image size: 56” x 83” Framed size: 67” x 95” STANDARD Image size: 37” x 55” Framed size: 48” x 66”

FARGO Montana, USA – 2020 "A huge film from the wonderfully authentic Coen brothers and until I took this image, there was no photograph in my portfolio with sufficient symbolism to deserve the title. Out of respect to the movie, the title “Fargo” cannot be ascribed on a casual basis to any picture taken in the frozen north. It had better be punchy. But in Eastern Montana in a winter storm, we had two components here - a long straight road splitting the frozen prairies and also the possibility that I could make a narrative of sudden joy and happiness. On the day before the shoot, I wandered around the fairly rundown outpost of Forsyth, Eastern Montana, trying to find another layer to the story. When I went to buy a drink, I found that I had run out of dollars so I nipped across the street to the ATM. As my dollars came out, I had one of my rare moments of inspiration – Fargo and its zany theatrical storytelling - we should use dollars flying around in the wind. The car passengers just stumbled across a frozen cash treasure trove - as seemingly happens regularly in this part of the world. Only one frame out of many worked, but that is all you need. The smile on the Tamaskan’s face is a bonus, but the connectivity between the two seemingly fortuitous travelers makes the image. If the parallel with the film holds true, they have taken on more than they could imagine in their worst nightmare." - David Yarrow Archival Pigment Print Edition size: 12 LARGE Image size: 56” x 84” Framed size: 67” x 95” STANDARD Image size: 37” x 55” Framed size: 48” x 67”

“EMPIRE OF THE SUMMER MOON” New York, USA – 2020 "For those looking for a good book to read in these times when good books have assumed a bigger role in our daily lives, I strongly recommend “Empire of the Summer Moon”, The New York Times’ bestseller about the war between the Comanche Indians and the white settlers for control of the American West. The book was shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize - so I am not saying anything groundbreaking in my recommendation. The Comanche was the most powerful tribe in American History. They adapted to the horse earlier and more completely than any other plains’ tribe and they were without doubt the prototype horse tribe in North America. The white man’s 40-year war with the Comanche in the mid 19th century was the tribe’s final chapter in its 250-year crusade to fight off settlers. But their legacy lives on and the lethal inland empire dominated by the tribe is an integral part of American history. My idea for this part of the series was to work with a Comanche descendant from their homeland in Texas and New Mexico and place him or her against today’s Manhattan Skyline. A horse was not going to work in this storyline as we thought the Hudson River would offer the best platform on which to play a layered narrative. With the help of a friend in Colorado, we found the right Comanche for the job in Santa Fe and he was excited to collaborate on the project. He helped source the canoe and brought his warrior clothes. Again, we would stress that their pride in their heritage manifests itself in fully embracing projects that give their tribe exposure. We were looking to create art as opposed to saying anything profound. By photographing an ancestor of America’s most powerful tribe in front of modern America’s most powerful city - the lost world meeting the new world - we are simply celebrating the breadth of American history. Joaquin Gonzalez did the Comanche proud. He managed the canoe on those waters magnificently and he looked every inch the warrior that we asked him to be." – David Yarrow Archival Pigment Print Edition size: 12 LARGE Image size: 56” x 87” Framed size: 67” x 98” STANDARD Image size: 37” x 58” Framed size: 48” x 69”

GAME OF PISTOLS

LAST CHANCE SALOON “To return to the Pioneer Bar in Virginia City, Montana is to return to my comfort zone and I feel an obligation to arrive with creative courage. We must push boundaries and not be lame in our conceptual processing. We have a free run here in the winter, when only 60 people live here and the Mayor only recently gave me the symbolic key to the city. The group shots that I have photographed around the window end of the long bar have been well received and are difficult to top, especially as the last one included Cindy Crawford. My premise this time was to markedly up the number of people in the picture (the most we had used before was six). This puts pressure on both the construction and the casting, as one lame character can become a tension point and ruin the whole image. We have all experienced the difficulty of group pictures on Christmas Day or Thanksgiving. I think Ellen DeGeneres’ Oscar selfie works so well, not just because of the number of people in the image, but because every character is an additive. It is my favourite selfie. We assembled a strong cast - the models Kate Bock from Cleveland and Olivia Culpo from Charlotte, native American families from Northern Montana and then, of course, my favourite local mountain men. The hair and makeup/styling team, led by Nikki Parisi out of LA, was outstanding. My direction was 150 years ago Wild West - appropriate as in the 1860s, over 15,000 lived in Virginia City and The Pioneer Bar would have been very busy. All 11 characters played their roles well that day, but perhaps the picture is stolen by a lovely 85-year-old lady called Mary from Butte, Montana. We nearly called the picture “There’s Something About Mary” but perhaps her hair was not quite right.” – David Yarrow Archival Pigment Print Edition size: 12 LARGE Image size: 56” x 97” Framed size: 67” x 108” STANDARD Image size: 37” x 64” Framed size: 48” x 75”

THE UNFORGIVEN Montana, USA – 2020 "When Cindy Crawford made her iconic Pepsi advert in 1992 for the Superbowl and then repeated it again in 2018, there were a few other constants as well as the model herself - most notably Peter Savic, one of the most celebrated hair stylists in the world. His client roster reads like the ultimate A list in Hollywood. Looking at his CV it would be quicker to mention who he hasn’t worked with. I had never had the fortune to work with Peter before but my brief time with him in Eastern Montana gave an insight into his genius. I gave him a rather clumsy articulation of the narrative I was looking for in this outdoor shot in freezing temperatures near Ingomar, a tiny hamlet with a population of just 15. We were about as far removed from controlled studio conditions in Hollywood as you could conceive. I think I simply said that Cindy would be carrying a shotgun and with it a look of intent. Twenty minutes later Cindy bounced out of the car with an extravagant Raquel Welch 1960s big hair look that was spot on for what I had in mind. After that my job was easy - to shoot as quickly as possible so that our lead would not get too cold. The trick is simply to have no doubt in one’s mind of the composition and believe firmly in the narrative embodied in the preconception. It’s a bit like a golf shot (not that I would know), you make up your mind and go for it. My storyline was that Cindy and her troop were the deliverers of frontier justice - whatever way that may come. I guess there is a slight nod to Tarantino in the vignette. It worked and this was certainly a team effort." - David Yarrow Archival Pigment Print Edition size: 12 LARGE Image size: 50” x 101” Framed size: 61” x 112” STANDARD Image size: 32” x 65” Framed size: 43” x 76”

TENNESSEE WHISKEY Montana, USA – 2020 "Whiskey and the cold go together for me, as does travelling around Montana and playing country music. This photograph’s title gives us the opportunity to celebrate all of the above. The ice bar was a specialist effort and over the two days I think the team did a grand job. There is a palpable sense of cold in this most remote bar two hours north east of Billings. The day we shot it was snowing heavily outside which I think made everyone’s job easier. It was not as if we were in a studio in Burbank with 90-degree temperatures outside. It was technically a challenging image as I needed the Tamaskan dog, the saloon girl, Josie Canseco, and the mountain man to be sharp or near sharp and this required a very slow shutter speed. This is a bar that should exist somewhere. If anyone finds it please make sure to let us know." - David Yarrow Archival Pigment Print Edition size: 12 LARGE Image size: 56” x 83” Framed size: 67” x 94” STANDARD Image size: 37” x 55” Framed size: 48” x 66”

Enough is Enough Montana, USA – 2020 "Sometimes a simple narrative can work better than one with many different layers. There is nothing I would change in this photograph. It just works so well. Cindy, who was styled with reference to Julie Christie in Dr Zhivago, looks sensational and the symmetry of the abandoned decaying building is almost too good to be true. Meanwhile, the snowfall is just right; heavy enough to be impactful, without it being a full on blizzard which would have impaired the aesthetic detail. There was enough light that cold morning in North East Montana to allow for a generous depth of field. The cowboy, who looks like he is losing his glamorous wife for good, hails from Indiana and I have used him as an extra in the past. He wears his weathered Jeff Bridges look with comfort and his positioning against the window was well conceived. Storming out of the house is a marital storyline that many will be more familiar with than would readily care to admit. However, this rift, like the house, looks irreparable. I love this image, as indeed does Cindy. I can see it adorning the walls of many a mountain lodge in the years to come. What a stroke of luck to discover that building and we will keep its location secret. Even if someone finds it, I think they may well struggle to assemble the other component parts." - David Yarrow Archival Pigment Print Edition size: 12 LARGE Image size: 56” x 83” Framed size: 67” x 94” STANDARD Image size: 37” x 63” Framed size: 48” x 74”

3:10 to Yuma Texas, USA - 2020 “Railway tracks can be visually strong props for photographers and filmmakers as they lead the eye and also offer a palpable sense of travel and adventure. The problem is that train tracks are mostly live and therefore out of bounds for working artists. Railroads played an integral role in the push West in the 19th century and the pioneering spirit that characterised their construction has long fascinated me. We located a disused track not far from Marfa in West Texas stretching all the way to Presidio on the Mexican border. It ran through private land and in one cattle ranch a modest station had been built to the side of the track for the Oscar winning 2007 movie “There will be blood”. We negotiated terms with the ranch owner and he gave us access to film on a location well known to Daniel Day Lewis. My preconception was to push modern sensibilities to one side and to play to the stern masculine traditions of Westerns. I wanted a grittiness to the narrative and a simple story of final frontier “badness” at work. The more you complicate Westerns, the less effective they can become. I like to tell stories using archetypal imagery and bring my own vision of Western lore. I think it is always better to exaggerate and amplify - just as Tarantino did so exceptionally well in “Django Unchained”. Why dumb it down? This was not a simple set up - getting an authentic wagon to this remote location required considerable resourcefulness. The composition and lighting work and the model - Josie Canseco - played her tragic role wonderfully well. Sometimes an idea just comes off and there is not much I would change in this frame.” – David Yarrow Archival Pigment Print Edition size: 12 LARGE Image size: 56” x 89” Framed size: 67” x 100” STANDARD Image size: 37” x 59” Framed size: 48” x 74”

THE END OF THE LINE, TEXAS 2020

LOST HORSE SALOON, TEXAS 2020

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, Texas 2020

TRUE GRIT (COLOR)

A DALLAS COWBOY, Dallas, Texas 2020

DALLAS COWBOYS, Texas 2020

LOCAL HERO